■UNITED STATES
World Cup bid cities named
Eighteen cities were named as part of a US bid for the 2018 or 2022 soccer World Cup on Tuesday, but Chicago was notably absent. The 18 cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas and Boston, have stadiums with average seating capacities of 78,000. Other cities named in the bid that will be presented to FIFA on May 14 were Atlanta, Baltimore, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Nashville, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa and Washington. Asked about Chicago failing to make the cut, US Soccer president Sunil Gulati said: “I think there’s a little Olympic fatigue. They had a tough time wrestling with FIFA requirements and when we approached them they were still in the middle of their [failed 2016] Olympic bid.”
■JAPAN
Inamoto to return home
Junichi Inamoto will return to the J-League with Kawasaki Frontale after falling out of favor at French side Stade Rennes. The 30-year-old is set to be unveiled as a Frontale player this week subject to a medical after Rennes announced his move to the J-League club on their Web site. Inamoto is desperate to play at this year’s World Cup and a move to Frontale should boost his chances of being selected.
■ITALY
Roma hit back to avoid upset
AS Roma bounced back from conceding a shock early goal against Serie B strugglers Triestina to win 3-1 on Tuesday and qualify for the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia. Roma, who will play Genoa or Catania next, joined Serie A leaders Inter in the last eight after Jose Mourinho’s team beat Livorno 1-0 last month. Triestina were ahead after just five minutes as Luigi Della Rocca converted a penalty after he had been fouled by Marco Cassetti. A shock was on the cards against a weakened Roma, for whom coach Claudio Ranieri rested the likes of Juan, Luca Toni and Daniele De Rossi. But Roma drew level on the stroke of half-time as Matteo Brighi scored. Mirko Vucini gave the hosts the lead on the hour after he was set up by Jeremy Menez. And 10 minutes from time Julio Baptista sealed the victory direct from a free-kick.
■ITALY
Ferrara keeps Juventus job
Juventus coach Ciro Ferrara retained his job after a two-hour emergency team meeting with club officials, but could be at risk if the Turin powerhouse failed to eliminate Napoli in the Italian Cup yesterday. Juventus president Jean-Claude Blanc and fellow management members Roberto Bettega and Alessio Secco addressed the underperforming squad on Tuesday. A 3-0 home loss to AC Milan on the weekend prompted fans to set fire to seats inside the Stadio Olimpico. It was Juve’s third league loss in four games _ a run that follows a 4-1 home defeat to Bayern Munich that knocked the Turin power out of the Champions League.
■SPAIN
Late penalty sinks Villarreal
Second division Celta Vigo knocked Villarreal out of the King’s Cup 2-1 on aggregate with a stoppage-time penalty at the Madrigal on Tuesday. Roberto Trashorras squeezed his 91st-minute spot kick under Diego Lopez for a 1-0 victory on the night, after home defender Angel had tripped Pedro Botelho as he raced into the area. Celta, who drew 1-1 at home in the first leg, moved into the quarter-finals next week where they will meet Atletico Madrid or second division Recreativo Huelva. Recre, who hold a 3-0 first-leg lead, visit the Calderon today.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB